Windows has shutdown to prevent further damage

I walked into my girlfriend's room this morning and a blue screen with that message at the top. I'm a Linux guy, and when I did run Windows, I had never seen this screen. Anyway, I copied down the Technical Info it gave me:

Code:

***STOP: 0x0000007E (0x0000005, 0xB9939B82, 0xF7A57B30, 0xF7A57, 782c)
rt2500usb.sys - Address B9939B82 base at B9932000, DateStamp 425cd8e1
Beginning dump of physical memory

She has a Compaq computer running XP. She only had it for about a year and has recently been having random troubles with it. The 'rt2500usb.sys' kind of leads me to believe that something is up with the usb, but that cant take down a whole computer can it?

I should also mention that I took a look at her case and the fans and vents are all caked with dust, which leads me to believe that she is just overheating.

If you need more info, just ask. Thanks!

 

I had this problem before, it turned out to be a bad stick of RAM.
Check this out. http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=35246
And this. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315263

 

P.S. Clean up her box!

 

Hey, let's keep this clean for the kids...

Anyway, I did give it a good dusting already.

 

I know that the file 'rt2500usb.sys' is usually a driver for a Ralink based wireless internet adapter. Do you have a wireless adapter in the USB port? If you don't, the file may be malware. I did a Yahoo search and the first few hits suggested malware; and I know from experience that 'rt2500' files are Ralink wireless drivers. The USB WLAN adapter may not be branded Ralink (and probably isn't): MANY companies use Ralink wireless chips in their products.....

hopperdave2000